Admissions

The Committee on Evolutionary Biology (CEB) welcomes applications from students interested in pursuing interdisciplinary doctoral training in evolutionary biology. CEB is in the University’s Division of the Biological Sciences. Applications are processed through the Division’s Office of Graduate Affairs.

We encourage all applicants to use our online application, as we no longer have paper applications or admissions materials. The three clustered Ph.D. programs (Evolutionary Biology/CEB, Ecology and Evolution, Integrative Biology/OBA) provide training for research and teaching in behavior, biomechanics, conservation biology, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, functional and evolutionary morphology, genetics, neurobiology, paleobiology, systematics, and related subjects. Students admitted into CEB usually draw more heavily on faculty from multiple departments or on faculty from more than one institution, but students in all programs are encouraged to train broadly by interacting with faculty both within and outside the cluster. Students should begin preparing their applications early in the autumn so that their applications (including all supplemental materials) will be complete by the annual deadline date of December 1st. CEB faculty review all complete applications in January and February. New students begin their program of study in CEB in September (Autumn Quarter).

The University of Chicago requires that most applicants who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents submit test results from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Detailed instructions and requirements for graduate applications can be found at the Biological Sciences Office of Graduate Affairs.

We strongly suggest that all students who are eligible to apply for National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships do so. The applications generally are due in early November each year. The National Science Foundation: “Aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in this competition. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study.”

Please feel free to contact our faculty. If you have specific questions about the application process, financial aid, or the program itself, please email us or telephone (773) 702-9474.